Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Olivia Railsback in action for the Corsairs on Saturday.

By Ray Hamill — The Corsairs overcame a slow start in their home opener in women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon, but quickly settled into the game and got a much-needed win.

After dropping their first five games of the season, three of which were against some of the top teams in NorCal, the College of the Redwoods women came into the weekend showdown with a record of 0-5.

But they would get that first victory over College of Marin by a score of 74-53 while showcasing exactly what could make this team dangerous as the season goes on. 

Seven of the eight CR players on hand scored at least seven points in what was a very balanced team performance.

And that sort of balance could catch some opposing teams off guard.

“I really feel with this team we have, it could be any one of them on any night,” head coach Jain Tuey said. “I feel like we have a couple of players who have the potential to take over games, but they all really want to play team ball and play together.

“Any teams scouting us can’t really hone in on any one player.”

Ellie Pesch had a big second half and finished with a team-high 16 points in the win, while Lilianna Hoban added 13 points and Olivia Railsback and Lily Shelton each finished with 11 points.

Railsback also dished out seven assists and had five rebounds, while Kyla Albee had a good all-around game and finished with eight points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Ronee Norwood had a good first half and helped the Corsairs weather some early difficulties while finishing with seven points and six rebounds.

Moriah Bowles also had eight points.

With Kim Lewis sidelined through injury, Railsback took over at point guard and did a good job settling the team down after a shaky start.

“We started off a little slow,” Tuey said. “I felt the girls needed to settle in. But I thought we handled the start pretty well considering, and in the second quarter things started connecting and clicking for us.

“We connected on a different level than we did in the last five games.”

The CR women were shorthanded for the first couple of games of the season with three players still playing volleyball and soccer, and once they joined up with the team Lewis suffered her injury.

Molly Slayton also missed Saturday’s win through injury, leaving the Corsairs with just eight players.

No word yet on whether or when the two injured players could return.

However, a tough start to the season against some of the top programs in NorCal should benefit the CR women.

“We faced a lot of very athletic and tough teams,” Tuey said “I felt it was a very good experience for a young team.”

Two former H-DNL players also had good games on Saturday for Marin, which dropped to 4-5 with the loss.

Fortuna’s Isobel Crosswhite is in her second year with the team and has established herself as a key player.

Crosswhite scored 11 points, pulled down a team-best nine rebounds and also had a game-high three blocks.

St. Bernard’s Mataya Sherman is in her first year with the Mariners and appears to have adapted quickly to the collegiate game, finishing with seven rebounds and three points on Saturday.

The Corsairs will now turn their attention to the Shasta Crossover tournament, which tips off on Thursday.

The CR women will open against San Mateo at 5 p.m., and will also play Yuba on Friday and Solano on Saturday.

And Tuey is expecting a battle against an athletic San Mateo squad.

“I think it’s going to be a competitive game,” she said. “Hopefully we can pick up three wins this weekend.”

This year Tuey is joined by assistant coaches Ashley Quigley and Calvin Johnson II.